


The Chase

by Wanderingcourier



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animal Death, Cunnilingus, F/F, Face-Sitting, Feral Behavior, First Meetings, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Strap-Ons, Vaginal Fingering, Werewolf AU, sometimes to be the change you want to see in the world you gotta write werewolf smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-28 05:37:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10824879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wanderingcourier/pseuds/Wanderingcourier
Summary: And then the creature stepped out, standing from it's crouching position in the bushes, and that was not a goddamn mountain lion. A big, short torso on longer legs, a thick neck with a larger, triangular head, and massive triangular ears, set much higher on the head than a cat's. Jasper could just barely make out a line of thicker hairs, running up the ridge of the thing’s spine, like the bristles of a boar. It was damn near twice the size of an average mountain lion-- Jasper could’ve dominated it in a fight, but this thing was big enough to give her some trouble.This thing was much too large for any natural predator.This thing was a shifter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Werewolf AU, smut in the second chapter, blood in the first. It's a party.

Look, it wasn’t like Jasper was opposed to scavengers, y’know, morally. You had to do what you had to do to survive, especially when you didn’t want to hurt anyone. The call of instinct was impossible to resist, and Jasper would never, ever blame someone for giving in, especially in ways that took them away from places they could hurt people.

But chewing off the legs of old prey? Really? People were going to notice something as blatantly not normal as that.

And for the past three months, that had been what Jasper had found. She would drive herself out into the country, parking her truck away from the road and leaving her clothes in the car. The moon would rise, she would transform, and she would run. She would run and hunt and chase and at least once per night for the three nights her curse took hold, she would find dessicated deer with their goddamn legs chewed off.

Whoever was doing it was either really good at hiding, or had a different phase than her. She’d heard of it, other shifters whose curse took them on different phases of the moon. She’d never met any, though. That was sort of the point of living out here. Packs were dangerous, packs encouraged groupthink, made them too easy to find and kill.

Jasper’s heart ached for a pack, some nights. Fucking instincts.

The point was, something else had moved into Jasper’s territory. That wouldn’t stand. Especially since whatever or whoever had moved in was a dumbass who didn’t know how to keep themselves subtle. They could be young, or they could just be foolish.

Tonight, Jasper was going to find out. The wounds on the animals were always dry by the time she found them, and the scent of her rival just barely present. One week before, on the waxing gibbous.

The instinct had always demanded that she hunt. That she shift on nights she was not forced to, that she feel the pulse of her prey beneath her teeth and that she taste their blood, hot and fresh on her tongue. Jasper had found that bowhunting, with its quiet stalking and sudden thrill of a successful shot, was a tad more socially acceptable.

Her bow hunting habits also meant that she knew quite a lot about how to camouflage herself and her scent. So the Friday before her calendar (Amazon kept suggesting astronomy books for her, based on her purchases of various measurements of the phases of the moon that year) declared a waxing gibbous moon, Jasper took the day off of work, shot a deer, and set up the night vision camera. She was sure of her camouflaging skills and had been careful to minimize her own scent on the camera.

She sat in her truck, laptop on the other seat and thermos full of coffee, and she settled in for the wait. It was sundown. She shouldn’t have to wait long.

It took a few hours. Interesting. She would have thought the smell of blood would have attracted her rival by sundown. Jasper had been browsing through a few websites, the camera feed in a small window in the corner of the screen, when she saw movement. She maximised the camera feed, feeling her heartbeat pick up.

The bushes near the corpse were rustling softly. Jasper felt her shoulders slump despite her own conscious interest. She could estimate the size of the thing, and it was no werewolf. It was too small. Larger than a dog, though. A mountain lion? She couldn't quite peg the exact size, but it seemed a tad big. A really fat mountain lion, maybe. That was disappointing. Jasper wasn’t sure if she was hoping for a rival. Maybe she was. Someone to chase, someone to help hunt. She could spare weekends to shift with them.

And then the creature stepped out, standing from it's crouching position in the bushes, and that was _not_ a goddamn mountain lion. A big, short torso on longer legs, a thick neck with a larger, triangular head, and massive triangular ears, set much higher on the head than a cat's. Jasper could just barely make out a line of thicker hairs, running up the ridge of the thing’s spine, like the bristles of a boar. It was damn near twice the size of an average mountain lion-- Jasper could’ve dominated it in a fight, but this thing was big enough to give her some trouble.

This thing was much too large for any natural predator.

This thing was a shifter.

Jasper was almost overcome with the sudden need to run out there and catch it, figure out who it was and what it was doing in _her_ territory, eating _her_ kill and generally existing and hunting where she did not belong.  

Jasper took another swig of coffee instead, and took a screenshot of the video to more closely examine later. The creature had settled in, pinning the deer with it’s forepaws and ripping great chunks out of the ribcage of the deer. Whatever it was, it had strong jaws-- Jasper could see it crunching through the rib bones of the deer.

The thing sat and ate for almost an hour, and Jasper was enraptured the entire time. Her rush of anger had turned into something between awe and curiosity. Who was this? What were they? Had they always been here, and Jasper had somehow never noticed? No, that was impossible.

The creature stood up and stretched once it was finished eating, before turning and disappearing back into the brush. Jasper shut off the camera feed and took another swig of coffee before turning on her truck. She had some research to do.

* * *

 

A reverse image search on the screenshot suggested hyenas to Jasper. The first few times, Jasper had dismissed it as an error, and turned to some (only minorly sketchy) cryptozoology sites, looking for something that matched the description. But there was nothing-- too high north for a chupacabra, certainly not bigfoot, extra-certainly not a jersey devil.

Jasper heaved a sigh, and pulled up the wikipedia page for hyenas. The pacific northwest was, predictably, way out of their range. Why would a werehyena decide to come here, and not somewhere like the southwest, where they would at least find some familiar climates?

But looking at the pictures, there was no doubt. The creature was a hyena. Jasper was gonna guess striped-- the head on the spotted looked all wrong, too large, the ears not large enough.

The folklore section gave Jasper nothing useful-- nothing about people transforming into hyenas like werewolfs did, nothing about a bite that cursed someone to transform with the moon. A few sentences about how to hunt them-- useless for Jasper, who could sniff them out and pin them if she needed to.

That wasn’t to say that nothing on the page was useful, though-- if the call of instinct in a werehyena was like that of a werewolf’s, there was probably a den, marked by bones at the entrance, somewhere in the forest. Jasper had never bothered to try and hunt her rival down, the scent always being faint enough to promise no true competition. Now, she knew that not only was she dealing with a fellow shifter, it was a shifter that wouldn’t necessarily be as aggressive as another lone wolf.

Striped hyenas didn’t live in packs. Jasper wondered if her rival ever felt the desire to form one anyways.

Tonight would be the true waxing gibbous. Jasper had slept enough during the day. Tonight, she could meet this other creature.

* * *

 

Thankfully, nothing had dragged off the deer from last night. Jasper wrinkled her nose at the faint scent of rot-- that shouldn't stop the werehyena, though. The sun was just starting to set-- Jasper could transform soon.

It was rare that Jasper gave into the desire to transform on nights the moon wasn’t full. Tonight, however, was a special occasion. After all, not transforming when she was meeting another shapeshifter was just foolish. If the werehyena was aggressive, she would need to be able to defend herself.

If the werehyena wasn’t aggressive… well. It had been a long time since she had been shifted in the company of another.

The sun went down, and Jasper took a deep breath.

It didn’t hurt anymore, really. Not the sharp, tearing pains of her first few transformations. No, now it was more like one long, dull ache as she grew as her bones shifted and her mouth filled with sharp fangs.

Maybe she shouldn’t shift all the way? That would make it more clear what she was.

Even as she decided against the idea, Jasper fell onto her hands-- paws-- inching ever closer to her full transformation.

Jasper could never keep track of the time it took to transform. It could have been seconds, minutes, hours. But the dark was no longer so dark around her, the stars wonderfully bright and clear, the air carrying all of the good clear scents she loved. Water to the east, wood, alive and dead, all around her, carrion only a few feet away. The death smell didn’t bother her now-- it smelled like success, blood and adrenaline past laying before her.

Would the werehyena still approach, if it could smell her? Jasper closed her eyes, feeling out the wind, before repositioning herself. Hopefully now, the werehyena would only smell the carrion, and from there Jasper could reveal herself.  

It took a few hours, just as it had taken a few hours the night before. But-- yes, Jasper could smell it approaching, even if she could not hear the footfalls. The werehyena was bolder tonight, only waiting a few seconds before coming out into the clearing, sniffing happily at the remains of the hip of the deer.

Jasper stepped out into the moonlight and sat down. She and the werehyena locked eyes. There was a tension there, the hyena waiting for Jasper to make a move. Slowly, Jasper lowered herself onto her front paws-- ready to spring if the hyena should attack, but hopefully a show of peace.

The seconds ticked by. Neither creature moved.

And then the hyena was running, and before Jasper’s thoughts could catch up she was giving chase. Yes, yes-- she had missed the thrill of the chase, paws against earth, heart against her ribcage like a steady bass drumming.

The hyena took a sharp turn, and Jasper had to scramble to keep up. The hyena was much smaller-- Jasper easily outweighed it by fifty pounds-- and had a much tighter turning radius. It doubled back, and Jasper almost slammed into a tree trying to make the turn.

But she didn’t. She made the turn and she was gaining-- they hyena had to scramble under a log blocking the path, but Jasper could easily leap over it, and the whole earth seemed to shake as she landed mere feet away from her-- prey? Partner?

It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. What mattered was the smell of the dirt the hyena kicked up as it ran, the stench of moss crushed beneath their paws as they sprinted, the sounds of both of their breaths. Jasper could hear the beat of the hyena’s heart, higher pitched thump thump thumping complementing the feeling of Jasper’s own heart in her chest.

The hyena took a risk, propelling itself through the air over another rotting log, only to catch, to stumble and slow down--

And Jasper leaped, skidding in front of it and pouncing, her jaws an inch away from the hyena, pinned neatly beneath her. She could smell the breath of the hyena, meat and bone and-- fruit? Both of their chests heaved. Neither made a move.

Jasper stepped back, pushing out her front legs, bowing her chest into the ground, reasonably certain that her tail was wagging with no input from her. The chase was good. The chase was fun! The hyena had been excellent to chase. It could chase _Jasper_ now-- that would be perfect! Then they could go back to the deer and maybe eat some. Yes, this was amazing. Shifting tonight was such a good choice.

The hyena stood up. Jasper made a rumbly little bark, feeling her tail wag harder. Ok, she tried to say, Your turn now. You chase me.

The hyena stepped back. Jasper’s muscled tensed. And, for the first time in many, many years, Jasper was disappointed to see the first rays of the sun peek over the horizon.

Jasper had to clamber back upright as the transformation back started, the dull ache in her bones beginning again. There was no chance to choose how far back she transformed-- with the rays of the sun returned her humanity. Through the blur of her eyes adjusting back to being human, she could see the figure of the werehyena unfurling back into a human. At least now they could exchange names.

The werehyena-- was almost certainly a girl, for one. It had been so long since Jasper had shifted with someone else, she had sort of forgotten about the clothing thing. That was embarrassing.

She was pretty, though-- dark brown skin and hair with lovely dark eyes. Small-- much shorter than Jasper, but that wasn’t much of an accomplishment. Her dark hair was chopped short, and the shagginess suggested that she would need another haircut soon.

Jasper wondered what the hyena-- girl-- thought of Jasper. Jasper opened her mouth to properly introduce herself and before she could so much as greet her companion, the girl turned and fled.

Jasper blanched.

“No, wait! I’m…” She stepped forward, but did not chase the girl again. “I’m sorry!” Jasper called after her.

There was no response.

* * *

 

Jasper was kicking herself the entire truck ride home. How could she have been so stupid?! She’d probably scared the life out of that poor girl, chasing her like that. No wonder she had ran. Jasper would’ve ran, too.

She had really thought it would work out. In the moment, it had all felt so _right._ Like she finally had a pack again. Like there was someone else out there to share her curse with, someone to make the nights less lonely.

She had been an idiot. She’d never have a pack. Jasper had thought herself aware of that fact, had thought that she was over what had happened so long ago.

She stepped into the shower, and let her head thunk against the wall. Goddamnit. She had work tonight, too.

Whatever. She would shower, eat something fast, and sleep. She’d get over it. The world wasn’t going to stop for her pity party.

* * *

 

The next few days were a blur, Jasper reliving that night over and over, in her waking hours and in her nightmares. What could she have done differently? Was there anything she could have changed that would have fixed that night?

All too soon, the full moon was there. Jasper tore around the forest in a mix of fury and desperation, as if she would find the hyena waiting for her. There was nothing. The deer from last week was untouched-- the hyena had not come back the third night.

Jasper caught several rabbits, instead of the deer she knew she could have stalked. The chase made her feel better, in a hollow sort of way. Feeling the neck of the rabbits snap under her paws, feeling their skulls crush beneath her teeth, gave her an empty satisfaction.

Jasper stumbled back to her truck on the morning of the second day, painted in the rabbit’s blood, and felt more lethargic in the light of morning than she had ever felt before.

On the second night, she found the den. It smelled like the hyena, much more strongly than any of the prey corpses had. Half eaten bones littered the entrance.

Jasper layed there for a while, eyes closed but unable to sleep, before the call of hunger became too great.

She took a deer that night. It gave her no more joy than the rabbits had.

The third night, she dragged the remains of last night’s deer to the entrance of the den. Jasper wasn’t sure what it meant. A gift? A peace offering? An apology?

All Jasper knew was that it felt right. She had to do something. She didn’t want to let their first meeting be her last.

The next full moon, the remains of the deer were still there, untouched but for smaller scavenger animals. The den smelled only of the bones.

For three nights, Jasper chased down and killed any animal unfortunate enough to cross her path.

All it really did was make Jasper feel worse.

* * *

 

It had been five full moons since Jasper had met the girl in the forest. Whoever she was, she had moved on. There were no more animals with their legs chewed off, and the den had grown dusty from disuse.

The rage and pain of the realization that the girl had moved on had died down since the second month. Jasper couldn’t force the girl back. After all, Jasper would have left too, if someone had chased her down. It was just sensible.

Now, Jasper was driving home. Her work had asked her to fill in at another location, hours away. Adding that much extra time onto her commute pissed Jasper off, especially since it was only a week until the full moon, but her work had always been generous about giving her time off when she needed it. She wouldn’t complain. Her boss was good to her, usually. At least she had tomorrow off.

The other location was over the Cascades, in a small desert town. Jasper almost never came out here. She preferred the shelter of the woods. All the open space made Jasper’s skin itch.

Spotting a dark figure, far down the road, was a surprise. The sun had just started to rise, and they were miles and miles from the nearest town. Who the hell would be out here at this hour? Had they gotten lost while camping, or something?

She slowed down as she approached. Whoever they were, they probably needed help. It was a long drive to the nearest town-- Jasper couldn’t imagine walking. Especially since the figure carried no bag, so they probably didn’t have any food or water. Poor planning, on their part. At least Jasper could offer some help.

Jasper rode past them and pulled over a couple dozen feet ahead. She didn’t want to scare them, or anything. She got out of the ruck. And her heart stopped.

It was the werehyena. So this is where she went. Made sense, it would get her back on the plains and away from any other werewolves. And oh yeah, if it was a week until the full moon, it was the werehyena’s night to transform. That explained why she was naked.

Jasper swallowed the lump in her throat.

“Do you need help?” Not her best opener. The girl wouldn’t look Jasper in the eyes. She didn’t respond at all, really.

“I have some clothes in the truck. If you want them.” The girl glanced up. She seemed to be studying Jasper. After a long few seconds, she nodded.

Jasper turned, pulling out her emergency pack. Absolutely none of this would fit the girl, but at least she wouldn’t be naked. She tossed the pack to the werehyena, looking sheepishly down at the ground.

When Jasper looked back up, the girl was wearing one of Jasper’s t-shirts and the sweatpants that had been in the pack.

“Do you need a lift?”

The girl nodded again, quicker this time. Jasper climbed back into the driver’s side of the truck and unlocked the passenger side door. The other girl clambered in, buckling herself without prompting.

“Where to?” Jasper asked. She didn’t want to make this too weird. Maybe she could just drop her off in town, and let her walk back to her place? She didn’t seem to have any keys or wallet though. What had happened?

“Bend. The outer edge.” The girl mumbled, high pitched and hoarse. Jasper started the truck. Bend was a solid half hour away. Maybe less, depending on what she meant by the edge.

They drove in silence for the first ten minutes. Jasper could see the girl sneaking glances at her through the corner of her eyes. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened.

“You got a name?” Jasper asked. She was driving her home. It was a fair question.

“Peridot.” Was the only answer the girl offered. Jasper could work with it.

“Well, my name’s Jasper.” She replied. Peridot nodded slowly.

“You were the wolf. From a few months ago.” Had Peridot not recognized her initially? Jasper wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. Either way, she grimaced in response.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

Peridot didn’t respond.

Jasper’s mind was buzzing with questions-- what happened, where did you come from, do you hate me, are you okay-- but she had no idea what to actually ask her. Starting at the beginning sounded good.

“How’d you end up on the side of the road? If you don’t mind me asking.” Jasper added the last part quickly, trying to be polite. Peridot crossed her arms and winced.

“Bad planning. Something got into my den and tore up my bag. I was hoping I could get back to town by morning. As you can see…” She trailed off, laughing nervously.

“How were you gonna get back into your place without your bag?”

“I didn’t really think that far ahead, I guess.”

Jasper hummed in response, but help her tounge. Poor planning, indeed.

There was another few minutes of silence, unasked questions still hanging heavy in the air.

“So, what brought you out here? ‘S pretty far from where you must live.” Peridot asked.

“Work asked me to sub in for someone out here.” Jasper answered curtly. She didn’t want to give any sort of impression that she might have followed Peridot. She had fucked up a lot of stuff in her life, but she would never go that far.

Peridot just nodded in response.

The rest of the ride was similarly quiet, except for Peridot giving Jasper directions as they went into town. Much to Jasper’s surprise, Peridot directed her to what must have been her apartment building. Jasper put the car in park and unlocked the door. Peridot put her hand on the handle, but hesitated.

Jasper cleared her throat. Now or never.

“Look… I’m sorry. For that night. It was completely wrong of me to chase you like that, and I should have acted more responsibly. I wish I hadn’t done it, and I understand if I scared you, or if you never want to see me again. I’m really sorry.”

Peridot seemed surprised for a bare moment, before covering it with an emotion that Jasper couldn’t quite recognize.

“I… don’t never want to see you again. Which is sort of like forgiving you, I think. I…” She looked down again. “Do you want to come in? And talk about it.”

Jasper raised her eyebrows. This was… not expected. She probably should have said no. That would have been sensible. She had already scared Peridot once, and she was exhausted to boot.

Fuck it. She knew what she wanted.

“Yeah, sure. Is it okay if I just park here?”

Peridot shrugged and nodded.

* * *

 

Peridot had left Jasper alone on her couch, cradling a cup of coffee, to go change into some clothes that actually fit. Thankfully, this gave Jasper a chance to think about what to actually say. Peridot’s invitation had caught Jasper completely flat-footed.

Luckily, once Peridot emerged from her bedroom in her own clothes, she had more than enough questions for the both of them, already talking as she plopped down on the couch.

“I’ve never met another shapeshifter-- have you?”

Oh geeze. It made complete sense that Peridot would ask that, but still, Jasper really didn’t want to get into that whole mess right now.

“That’s… sort of a complicated question.”

Peridot frowned at her, but moved on.

“So, there aren’t any other shifters around here? I mean, if you don’t know any…”

Jasper shrugged.

“If there are, they don’t go anywhere I go. Might be some more north, towards Washington. I don’t really care, unless they show up in my territory.”

“Like I did?”

Jasper snorted.

“You made yourself obvious. If you were just catching your own prey, I doubt I would have noticed much. You don’t smell like a wolf, or like anything else I would’ve thought to keep an eye out for.”

Peridot made an offended little noise.

“I wasn’t obvious! I was _clever_! I bet you didn’t even find my scent or anything until after you knew I was there!”

“Chewing the legs off of any deer carcass you found wasn’t clever, it was baffling. I’m surprised we didn’t have bigfoot hunters or someone equally stupid investigating.”

Peridot crossed her arms, obviously skulking.

“I like the legs. They’re crunchy. You never left anything else good on them, anyways.”

Jasper rolled her eyes, but let the subject matter drop. Peridot was clearly not going to accept that she might have been extremely obvious. Whatever.

“So, what’s a werehyena doing up in Oregon anyways? Why not the southwest, or something?”

Peridot frowned again. Her crossed arms tightened until she looked more like she was hugging herself. Jasper could’ve kicked herself.

“It’s… a long story.”

Jasper held her hands up, a show of surrender.

“You don’t have to tell me. I just wondered. I couldn’t even figure out what you were, at first, just because hyena was so far from my mind.” This was probably not helping. “Sorry.”

Peridot shrugged, uncurling a little.  

“It’s okay. You didn’t know. It’s…” She sighed. “It’s just not really a nice story. I don’t want you thinking I’m… Like, that I’m someone you need to pity.”

Jasper shook her head.

“I know you don’t need pity. Trust me, I’ve been in the same place. We have stuff going on that other people don’t, and that stuff sucks, but we know what we’re doing.”

“It isn’t about… Well, it’s sort of about being a shifter. It’s just-- Can I ask a personal question?”

Jasper had a pretty good idea what Peridot was going to ask. Whatever. It was bound to come up.

“Shoot.”

Peridot looked at Jasper, before glancing away.

“Have you always been a shifter?”

Not quite the phrasing Jasper expected, but okay.

“Nope. Got bit when I was fourteen. Highschool really sucked for me.” Jasper chuckled weakly, trying to put some humor into the situation. It wasn’t working, not even for Jasper.

“I can’t remember not being able to shift. My mom said I get it from my dad. I dunno if that’s true. None of my sisters could shift. I… I was scared, when I got older. My mom would put me in this pen we had, out back. I got out one night. I woke up a state away. I went home, and my mom told me not to come back. She was scared for my sisters, I think.”

That was. A lot to take in at once. Okay.

“I’ve never heard about it being hereditary.” Again, not Jasper’s best response. Something about Peridot just threw Jasper off of her game.

She scooted towards Peridot, putting a hand on her back.

“That sucks, though. Having to leave. I… I guess I did something similar. I knew a lot of shifters, back when I was younger. Eighteen years old, maybe? We were sort of a pack, y’know? Running around, hunting and raising hell in the woods where we lived. But…” Jasper trailed off. This story was always a hard one to tell.

“One night, it all got messed up. There was a fight. We were loud. Damn near got all of us killed. There were a bunch of hunters on our trail. Couple of people got shot. I left the next day. I was scared of what the others would say. It was all my fault, really. Caught a bus to Oregon and never looked back.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, side by side, before Jasper’s thoughts caught up with her.

“Wait, did you say your mom put you in a cage?”

Peridot shrugged.

“Just on nights I had to transform. She’d throw me chickens and stuff. I’d say that was the least terrible thing she did, to be honest.” Peridot laughed faintly, but trailed off, looking pensively at Jasper.

"I guess in retrospect it was sort of fucked up. I never thought to question it, I guess." Peridot had a far away sort of look in her eyes. Jasper patted her shoulder sympathetically.

Jasper couldn’t imagine being transformed in a cage. Nowhere to run or hide, nothing to hunt, no way to protect herself from anything outside the cage. It must have felt awful for Peridot. She rubbed Peridot’s back, just a little, and Peridot leaned into her.

“Sounds like you have some shitty stories, then.” Jasper murmured.

“I could say the same about you.”

Jasper barked a gruff laugh.

“You sure could.”

Another few moments of silence as Peridot relaxed into Jasper. It was quietly intimate, moreso than anything Jasper had allowed herself to experience in a long time.

“Why did you chase me that night?” Peridot asked, quietly. At some point, Jasper’s hand had shifted to Peridot’s waist. She absentmindedly tugged Peridot a little closer.

“I was just excited, I guess. There was a lot more wolf than human thought processing that night, y’know? I guess on some level I thought you wanted to play.” Like a packmate, Jasper silently added. Peridot hummed in response.

“I thought you were mad. And then you caught me, and you didn’t do anything! I didn’t know what to do. So I left.”

She frowned.

“I didn’t like the forest that much, anyways. But you always left food behind. I figured you were just warning me off that night, so when my work offered to let me transfer away, I did.”

“I left you that deer, though. Not long afterwards, I think.”

Peridot tilted her head.

“You… Oh! That was you! I couldn’t figure out what it was doing there. I thought someone else had moved into my den.”

Jasper laughed and shook her head.

“Nope. Just the world’s dumbest love note.” Wait fuck no. Those weren’t the words she was supposed to say. Maybe ten years of lycanthrophy-induced celibacy really had taken it’s toll on Jasper.

Peridot was silent as she sat up. Jasper held her breath and waited to get kicked out.

Then Peridot launched herself at Jasper and kissed her, and everything was perfect. Jasper grinned like a lunatic and kissed her back, holding her face gently in her hands, tilting her head and just barely nipping at her lip. Peridot groaned and opened her mouth, and Jasper obliged, letting her tongue slip against Peridot’s, warm and wet and amazing.

And then it was over, Jasper and Peridot both red faced and panting.

“I feel like that was a little prompt but if I’m being honest I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that night, and I’m really sorry I scared you.” Jasper rushed out.

Peridot shook her head, breathing heavily.

“No no, it’s fine! It is really really okay. I, um, you’re really pretty and not that I know you never wanted to kill me or anything I really think we should get to know each other better.”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. That sounds really, really good.”

* * *

 

It was pitch black out by the standards of any normal human being. Jasper stood on a border, a field meeting a large, dark forest. She crouched, waiting. A rustle of movement, and her ears flicked towards it, her entire being focusing on that point.

A massive furry figure sprung, and Jasper turned to flee. She could hear Peridot’s low whoop behind her, rising above the din of paws against soft, moist earth, the steady beating of Jasper’s own heart. Jasper launched herself over a fallen log, revelling in the sound of Peridot scrambling beneath it.

  
The chase had begun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, heat is a thing. Huh.

Being a shapeshifter came with all sorts of weird side effects. Most of those were related to animal instinct-- a preference for raw meat, or for perfumes with strong notes of musk. Some effects, like fast hair and nail growth, seemed related to their physical nature, but not necessarily their animal nature. 

Probably the most alarming side effect, however, was heat. It didn’t seem to matter what type of animal had bit you, or whether or not that species even went into heat. Heats just happened, just one more aspect of the curse to plan around. 

So Jasper wasn’t too surprised when Peridot sent her a text one October night, begging Jasper to come over and provide some relief. They had been together for a while now, and they had both known that, inevitably, they would help each other with their heats. 

But that knowledge still hadn’t quite prepared Jasper to walk into Peridot’s bedroom and find her half-shifted, curled up in a little nest of blankets and pillows, masturbating furiously. 

Jasper didn’t exactly need an instruction manual to know what to do next. She had no hesitation as she stripped, allowing herself to relax and shift a bit as well-- she was much more relaxed about it now. She shifted no more than Peri had: sharper teeth, pointier ears, maybe a little extra body hair. Even that felt good, like shifting a weight off of her shoulders, or like taking off high heels after a long day.

Peridot let out a little snort of surprise when Jasper climbed into the bed with her, but she relaxed in seconds, pulling Jasper into a harsh, sharp kiss. That was the other great thing about having another shifter for a girlfriend, no need to worry about biting. Jasper cradled Peridot’s face with one hand and let her other stroke down Peridot’s body, over the soft curve of her breasts and hips. 

Peridot bucked into that simple touch, pulling away to roll onto her back and spread her legs, silently pleading. And oh god, Jasper could smell her now that she had shifted-- sharp musk and sweet fruits and she was kissing Peridot’s throat, one hand between Peridot’s legs and one hand supporting herself as she leaned over Peridot. 

She drew a finger around Peridot’s clit, swollen and wet from when she was touching herself earlier. Had she already orgasmed, or was she waiting for Jasper? Both thoughts sent a sudden ache to Jasper’s cunt. She coated her fingers and Peridot’s slick and eased one finger in, listening to Peridot’s keen. 

Meanwhile, she worked her tongue and lips over Peridot’s soft neck, keeping her movements gentle for now. She longed to sink her teeth into that throat, to scent Peridot and mark her and let everyone know who she belonged to. That could wait. They had time. She pressed another finger into Peridot, nudged her clit with her thumb, and Peridot shuddered and came, fluttering around Jasper’s fingers.

Jasper let her ride it out until she was whining, and pulled her fingers out. Peridot growled and wriggled her hips beneath Jasper, one hand wrapping around her back, sinking her claws in and rasping out a plea for  _ more _ . 

Jasper kissed the shell of her ear. 

“Do you want me to get the strap-on?” She asked, her voice a whisper in Peridot’s ear. Peridot moaned outright at just the suggestion. 

“God,  _ please _ .” 

“Alright. Just give me a minute.”

She stood up, a bit reluctant to pull herself away from Peridot. It would have been easy to just lay back down and see how many times Peridot would come around her fingers. The promise of getting to see Peridot properly mounted, however, was too good to pass up. And the way she  _ begged  _ for it…

It took a few minutes to fumble on the harness and get the silicone cock attached, but the view when Jasper turned around made every second worth it.

Peridot had flipped herself over onto her hand and knees, her chest bowed to the mattress and her ass in the air, her pussy still glistening from her last orgasm. Jasper swallowed thickly, her hand shaking as she popped open the little bottle of lube, smearing it onto the dildo. She had to be patient now, she couldn’t let her desire hurt Peridot. Peridot slid her hand back and spread her lips, whining, and Jasper felt another sharp spike of arousal go through her at the display.

That was all the impetus Jasper needed to climb back onto the bed, positioning herself on her knees, the tip of the strap-on just barely nudging Peridot’s entrance. She would already be stretched from the fingering earlier, but still…

Jasper placed a steadying hand on Peridot’s hip, absentmindedly wiping the lube off of her other hand on her thigh. 

“Are you ready?”

Peridot whimpered and rocked back, her hand coming back down to more fully support herself.

“Yes, Jasper,  _ please! _ ” 

With that confirmation, Jasper slowly pressed in, watching with something bordering awe as she entered Peridot. Peridot's heart rate picked up, just a bit, and the dildo pressed all the way inside, Jasper’s hips flush with Peridot’s. Jasper stayed like that for a moment, just breathing, before slowly starting to thrust. The dildo sat low on the harness, making thrusting a little awkward but providing delicious pressure on Jasper’s clit as she thrusted, making her pant in harmony with Peridot.

Jasper had to put her other hand on Peridot’s hips to steady her as she moved, Peridot already shivering with the intensity. Jasper picked up speed, angling herself until Peridot was squealing and crying out praise for Jasper with each thrust, and in turn every thrust provided a burst of sensation to Jasper. Jasper gripped one of Peridot’s hips tighter and reached under Peridot with her other hand, feeling out her clit, circling gently and pinching lightly until Peridot’s bucking beneath her became almost too much to control with only her hand. 

The scent had picked up too, until it filled Jasper’s senses, the sensations blurring together. Her nails dug into Peridot-- shit, she had claws now, didn’t she-- and she could smell just the slightest tang of blood. She could only barely control how hard her hips were bucking now, the slap of her hips against Peridot just another sensation in this whirlwind. She was close, she was so close, but she needed just a little bit more--

And then Peridot was cumming, Jasper could feel the strong tug, and very faintly she could feel the flutter of Peridot’s sex against her fingertips, where she was still massaging Peridot’s clit. Jasper groaned and sped up, just a little more, and she was  _ so close _ but it just wasn’t enough, she needed more. The closeness made her grit her teeth, the hand on Peridot’s hip clenching, scraping up more lines of blood. Beneath her, Peridot was half-screaming, half calling her name like a prayer,  _ Jasper, Jasper. _

Jasper slowed down her thrusts, letting Peridot ride her second orgasm out and letting her own body calm down. Peridot was panting beneath her, her hips still twitching, when Jasper pulled out. Jasper stood to pull off the strap-on, and Peridot stretched out, rolling over to watch Jasper.

Jasper placed the harness and dildo on the dresser-- she’d have to wash those later. When she returned to the bed, Peridot kissed her again, a little more gently this time. Jasper sighed into the kiss, before taking Peridot by the waist and rolling them both over, so that Peridot was now on top of Jasper. Jasper wrapped one arm around Peridot and sat them both up, Peridot in Jasper’s lap. She nudged their foreheads together, basking in Peri’s heat and warmth, and with her free hand, she placed one of Peridot’s hands on her crotch, murmuring a soft  _ please  _ into her ear. 

Peridot took the obvious hint, kissing Jasper again while running her little hands down Jasper’s body, caressing and pinching. Jasper groaned, wishing desperately that Peridot would get to the point, and Peridot shushed her, trailing kisses and nips down to her breasts. She wasn’t exactly leaving hickies, just little marks, not lingering long until she groped one of Jasper’s breasts with one hand while she suckled lightly on the nipple of the other. 

Jasper made a fist in the sheets. This was torturous, she was so wet and hot between her legs and she  _ knew  _ that Peri could smell it. Peridot ran her claws down Jasper’s stomach, stopping just before where Jasper craved her touch, and Jasper tossed her head against the pillows and canted her hips up, desperate.

Peridot just kept up her achingly slow pace, that little  _ brat,  _ trailing kisses down Jasper’s sternum, her belly, her mound, before kissing and biting the inside of Jasper’s thigh. Jasper grabbed a handful of Peridot’s hair, tugging as gently as she could up to where she needed to be touched. 

Peridot murmured something about Jasper being impatient, her breath ghosting over Jasper’s sex. Jasper wondered if that was a taunt, if Peridot was trying to goad her into something. They both knew that Jasper could toss Peridot around one handed. As if Peridot knew how close Jasper was to snapping at her, she finally kissed her clit. 

Jasper had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from embarrassing herself with the high pitched moan that threatened to escape. She was pretty sure that she heard Peridot giggle. She tightened her grip on Peridot’s hair, tugging again. Peridot ran her tongue up Jasper’s sex, and Jasper groaned again. 

Peridot had apparently decided to show some mercy, as she forewent her teasing to wrap a hand around Jasper’s thigh, settling herself between Jasper’s legs and lapping hot and fast at Jasper’s cunt. Involuntarily, Jasper’s other hand went down to grasp at Peridot’s hair as Jasper gasped at the stimulation. Peridot suckled at her clit, and Jasper moaned out loud, fighting to keep her hips still. 

Peridot suddenly tugged away, her hand tapping Jasper’s thigh, and Jasper pulled her hands away, sitting upright, alarmed. Peridot was gasping, but she licked her lips and pushed Jasper aside to lay on her back, looking up at Jasper expectantly. 

Jasper was absolutely not about to complain as she climbed over Peridot and braced herself on the wall, allowing Peridot to guide her hips down onto her face. Peridot resumed her ministrations, and Jasper arched her back and moaned. 

Jasper was close, she was so close-- she made a fist against the wall and bit her lip, trying to stop herself from just grinding on Peridot’s face and getting herself off. One of Peridot’s hands left her hip, and Jasper glanced back to see Peridot touching herself  _ again _ . 

“You greedy  _ brat, _ ” Jasper groaned, no true malice in her voice. Then Peridot sucked hard on Jasper’s clit, the very tip of her tongue dancing on it, and Jasper slammed her fist against the wall before grabbing a handful of Peridot’s hair.

She came hard against Peridot’s face, giving up and rocking her hips, smearing her slick onto Peridot as she pulled her hair. Peridot left her mouth open, letting herself be used, and Jasper praised her breathlessly,  _ that’s it, what a good girl,  _ any false anger from before apparently forgotten _.  _ Jasper could hear Peridot’s hand speed up behind her, and after a few more seconds of letting her body relax, Jasper climbed off of Peridot and grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away. 

Peridot sat up, throwing herself onto Jasper, kissing her, straddling her thigh and rocking hard against it until Jasper could feel a wet patch on her skin. God, Peri was desperate-- Jasper grinned viciously, pulling away to toss Peridot down onto the bed, climbing atop her and pinning her down, her smaller wrists caught in Jasper’s hand. 

“What do you want, Peridot? Do you want the strap-on again?”

Peridot was gasping for breath.

“Please-- it doesn’t have to-- I just need  _ something _ , Jasper, please!”

Jasper growled and leaned in, letting go of Peridot’s wrists to hold herself up, mouthing at Peridot’s neck before letting her teeth sink in where her throat joined her collar. Peridot cried out, half pleasure and half pain, and Jasper lapped soothingly at the blood that welled up. There would be a bite mark there for a while to come, she was sure. Good. Jasper pulled back, her face only a few inches from Peridot’s

“If you’ll be a good girl and hold still for me, I’ll fuck you again. Okay? You gotta do something for me afterwards, though.” She murmured.

Peridot nodded as much as she could, pupils blown wide with arousal. 

“I’ll do anything. I promise.”

Jasper kissed her softly. She hadn’t taken any time yet to really enjoy Peridot, she had been so overcome by Peridot’s obvious desperation. So she let her touches be softer as she sat up, tracing one hand down Peridot’s body. 

She pinched a nipple, just to hear Peridot gasp, to watch her squirm. Jasper groped Peridot’s other breast, moved back and bent down to kiss her collar, scraping her teeth just hard enough for tiny lines of blood to well up. Maybe later she could linger and paint Peridot’s throat with bruises and bitemarks. For now, she kept moving, tracing the very tips of her claw over Peridot’s waist, delighting in the soft shiver that passed through Peridot. 

She nipped at Peridot’s breasts and skirted a claw along the inside of Peridot’s thigh, and Peridot jerked and moaned. Jasper kissed her lips chastely.

“If you don’t hold still, I won’t fuck you.” She murmured against Peridot’s lips. Peridot leaned up just enough to kiss her again, and Jasper let her claws dig lightly into Peridot’s thigh, scratching her just hard enough to be rewarded with another gasp. 

“You teased me. Now I get to tease you.” Jasper admonished. Peridot pouted-- god, she was cute-- but stilled herself with visible effort. Jasper smiled and kissed her again, letting her hand move slowly to the crook of Peridot’s thigh, feeling how slick she was, still messy from earlier. Peridot’s jaw tensed, but she did not move.

Jasper traced lightly over Peridot’s folds, watching her grit her teeth in response. She nuzzled her head into the crook of Peridot’s neck, feeling the quick staccato of her pulse, inhaling her scent. 

Jasper sat up, ginning at just the look in Peridot’s eyes, longing mixed with frustration mixed with something like adoration. Jasper just couldn’t resist her. Peridot had waited long enough.

“That’s my good girl. Don’t move.”

It was a little harder to put the strap-on now, her hands shaking, but it still didn’t take long. Jasper rubbed on a bit more lubrication as she crawled over Peridot. 

“How do you want it? Facing me, or from behind?” Personally, Jasper wanted to see Peridot’s face when she came-- but it wasn’t her heat, nor her choice. 

Peridot cautiously sat up, and Jasper nodded encouragingly. She wasn’t trying to pull a trick-- that must have been what Peridot was wary of. Peridot glanced away for a second-- in thought?

“In your lap, facing you.” She finally answered, nodding decisively. 

Jasper could not contain her grin as she settled herself down on her knees. Peridot crawled into her lap, and Jasper obligingly held the dildo up, steadying it. She wouldn’t quite get any stimulation from this angle, but Peridot had promised to take care of her. Carefully, Peridot angled herself and sank down, laying her arms over Jasper’s shoulders. Jasper placed a hand on Peridot’s back, rubbing little circles into the small of her back. 

It took a few second’s for Peridot to start to move, long enough that Jasper had began to wonder if Peridot wanted Jasper to thrust up into her instead. Peridot started a slow rhythm for herself, a stark contrast to her frantic movements when she had been masturbating. For now, Jasper held herself still, kissing every inch of skin that she could reach but otherwise letting Peridot take her own pleasure for herself. 

Soon, Peridot began to pick up the pace. Every time she rocked back down, she whimpered and moaned, her hands clenching and unclenching, leaving scratches on Jasper’s broad back. Jasper moved her hand from Peridot’s back to her hip to stabilize her, cooing encouragements and compliments into Peridot’s ear as she bounced on the silicone cock. 

Peridot squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled one hand from around Jasper’s neck, reaching down to play with her clit. Jasper let her, licking her lips as she glanced down to watch Peridot play with herself while she rode Jasper. With a sharp cry, Peridot threw her arm back around Jasper’s neck and whined, her movements becoming shaky as her legs trembled with exertion. She must have exhausted herself.

“Do you want me to take over?” Jasper asked, keeping a firm grip on Peridot’s hip. Peridot nodded shakily, pulling herself off of the dildo to collapse back, her breath loud and fast. 

Jasper wasted no time in hitching up one of Peridot’s legs to push the dildo into her again, finally able to lean over and kiss Peridot as Jasper fucked her. God, yes, this was nice-- feeling Peridot’s pulse beneath Jasper’s lips as Peridot trembled and moaned beneath her.

Jasper brought one hand up to cradle Peridot’s head as she sucked bruises onto Peridot’s throat and collar, barely visible against Peridot’s dark skin. Peridot had, at some point, wrapped her arms around Jasper’s back, once again carving claw marks into her back as Peridot arched her back beneath Jasper. Jasper relished in the sting, biting down hard on Peridot’s shoulder.

Peridot moved one hand up to Jasper’s mass of hair, tugging her back up into an open-mouthed kiss, demanding her affection. Jasper nipped at Peridot’s bottom lip in response, before letting her tongue brush against Peridot’s, giving her the softer touch she wanted. 

Jasper also took that moment to let her hand slide down from Peridot’s thigh to her crotch, rubbing little circles onto her clit. Peridot moaned into the kiss, and Jasper rubbed a little harder, her fingers quickly coated in Peridot’s slick and remnants of the lube on the dildo. She lightly pinched Peridot’s swollen bud, and Peridot cried out beneath her, clearly close to cumming for the third time that night.

The thought of pulling back and making Peridot work for her orgasm flitted through Jasper’s mind, but she quickly decided against it. She’d already teased Peridot enough. Besides, they had all night, if Peridot was up for it. 

Peridot’s orgasm came like the snap of a trap wire, sudden waves as she arched her back and damn near screamed out Jasper’s name. Jasper kissed her over and over, keeping her fingers moving on Peridot’s clit and keeping her thrusts steady, intending on letting Peridot ride it out as long as possible. 

Peridot whimpered and tapped on Jasper’s shoulder.

“I can’t, I’m done…” She panted. Jasper slowed to a stop and sat up, but didn’t pull out yet.

“Did I wear you out, Peri?” She asked, grinning widely. 

Peridot shook her head, but was still breathing heavily. 

“I just… that was really good.” 

Jasper grinned, very aware of how sharp her teeth looked. Slowly, she pulled out, delighting in the shiver that passed through Peridot’s prone form. 

“That’s good, because you still owe me.”

Jasper stood up, taking off the harness and tossing it aside. Peridot watched from the bed, propping herself up on her elbows. Jasper sat down on the edge of the bed and put one hand on Peridot’s thigh. 

“Now do me a favor, and get on your knees for me.”

Peridot shivered again, but rushed to get into position, legs shaky and eyes bright. Jasper didn’t have to give Peridot any more instruction-- she immediately began to lay little nips and kisses along Jasper’s thighs, leaving little marks only really visible on the pale stripes that painted Jasper. Jasper sighed, gently petting Peridot’s hair. She didn’t mind taking things a little slower this time. She wasn’t nearly as worked up as she’d been earlier.

Evidently, however, Peridot had no plans to tease Jasper again. She licked a slow stripe up Jasper’s pussy, glancing up at Jasper with those lovely dark eyes, and Jasper smiled down at her. God, what had she done to deserve Peri? Jasper certainly didn’t know.

Peridot kissed her clit, returning her full attention to her task, and circled Jasper’s entrance with two fingers. Jasper palmed her own breast as she watched Peridot work, her little tongue flickering in and out as she lapped at Jasper’s clit. Slowly, Peridot pressed her fingers into Jasper, and Jasper let her head fall back as she moaned. She rolled her nipple between two of her fingers, the hand that had been petting Peridot twitching on the back of her head. Peridot slowly began to thrust her fingers, and Jasper hummed her approval. 

The pace picked up quickly, Peridot licking and sucking at Jasper’s clit as she thrusted her fingers. Her motions were astoundingly deliberate-- Peridot didn’t quite curl her fingers against Jasper’s inner wall, but she did stroke them, prodding just a bit until Jasper bucked her hips and called out her name. 

Jasper’s eyes had been shut, trying to focus on the physical sensations between her legs more than the sight, but then Peridot was moaning softly against Jasper, the vibrations novel and welcome. Jasper glanced down, and once again, Peridot was touching herself, her hand moving and making little wet sounds just barely out of sync with what Peridot was doing to Jasper. 

A taunt died on the tip of Jasper’s tongue as she watched Peri-- Peridot’s masturbation made the smell of heat return stronger than before, and Jasper found herself staring slackjawed as Peridot spread her legs a little more, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible. Jasper groaned out Peridot’s name, and the hand on Peridot’s head turned to a grip on her hair once again. 

Peridot’s eyes flicked up to look at Jasper, but neither of her hands nor her mouth stopped moving. And oh fuck, Peridot’s mouth and fingers felt like heaven, warm and soft and exactly where Jasper wanted them. She was close, and Peridot’s fingers pressed exactly where she needed them to and she was lapping at Jasper’s clit like it was manna from heaven and that was it. Jasper curled over as she came, growling, careful not to pull on Peridot’s hair as her body shook and trembled with the force of her orgasm. Peridot’s thrusts slowed down, and she rested her head against Jasper’s thigh, panting half for breath and half from pleasure. 

Peridot licked her one last time, long and slow, as she pulled her fingers out of Jasper. She was still fumbling frantically with herself-- and in one smooth move, Japer picked her up under her arms and dragged her into Jasper’s lap. Peridot squeaked, her hand slipping away from it’s place-- she must have only been playing with her clit. Jasper could see how wet she was, her curls damp both with her past climaxes and her current need.

“I thought you were done?” She asked sweetly. Peridot mumbled something, her eyes transfixed on Jasper. Jasper cocked her head to the side. “I can go if you are.” As if Jasper would actually leave. 

“No, please, please touch me,” Peridot whimpered, “one more time, I couldn’t even finish myself but I know you can.” She pleaded, wriggling her hips. Jasper felt her face heat up a little. She kissed the little scar on Peridot’s forehead. 

“What do you want me to do?” Jasper asked. Peridot glanced away. 

“Use your mouth? Please?”

Jasper kissed her again, full on the lips this time, and tasted herself in the kiss. 

“I was hoping you would ask.” She murmured, and god but she really meant it. Peridot’s heat smelled amazing, and the thought of being able to bury her head between Peridot’s shapely thighs sounded like the best possible path right now. 

Jasper deposited Peridot back onto the bed and layed down on her stomach, Peridot’s knees bent at a sharp angle and her thighs spread wide to accommodate Jasper. Jasper parted Peridot’s lips with one hand and paused for just a moment, feeling Peridot tense with anticipation. 

Peridot keened when Jasper licked her clit, and Jasper had to grab onto her hip to keep her pinned. She must have been close when Jasper stopped her. Jasper’s movements were sloppy, perhaps excessively so, but Peridot was already writhing beneath her so she must have been doing something right. And besides, something about just using her whole mouth on Peridot-- it was primal, instinctual, the same thrill she felt when she had just bent Peridot over and fucked her earlier. 

Jasper moaned against Peridot, just because it had felt nice when Peridot did it to her earlier. Peridot was trembling, and Jasper sucked her clit, obscene noises leaving her as she worked her lips and tongue against the swollen bud, cautious of her sharp fangs. Peridot’s back arched, and with a high pitched grunt she came, her hips twitching madly. Jasper still had her pinned tight against the mattress, blood dribbling out of pinpoint claw wounds. She pulled herself up a little, just enough to lick away the blood that had beaded up on Peridot’s right hip.

They laid like that, Jasper’s head just below Peridot’s stomach, for a few minutes. With a great effort, Jasper rolled off of Peridot.

“So  _ now _ have I worn you out?”

“You did not wear me out! I just… need some water. And a nap.”

Jasper had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at that. But hey, if she was up for more… Jasper slowly sat up.

“Maybe a snack, too.” Peridot added. Oh shit, food sounded so good right now.

“Well I definitely need a snack, so I’m gonna go and get some food. You want anything?” Jasper asked, standing up. God, she was gonna be sore tomorrow. 

“A glass of water and some poptarts, thanks.” Peridot replied, still laying down, one arm thrown over her eyes dramatically.

Jasper actually did roll her eyes, but Peridot couldn’t see her so it was okay. 

“Poptarts are bad for you, man. I’m gonna get you some actual food.”

“Nooooooo,” Peridot whined, sitting herself up at the threat of no junk food. “Just get me the poptarts! They have vitamins and minerals!”

“They’re trash food, Peri.” Jasper turned to head to the kitchen. If she was being honest with herself, she was gonna grab Peridot whatever she asked for, but talking her into eating actual food struck Jasper as a valiant effort.

“I’m a scavenger! I’m  _ supposed _ to eat trash! It’s part of my widely varied diet!” 

Jasper paused as she considered  _ that _ particular statement, and turned to look at Peridot, her expression hovering somewhere in between ‘extreme disapproval’ and ‘trying to hold in a laugh.’ 

Peridot had shifted fully while Jasper’s back was turned, and appeared to be attempting to give her the hyena equivalent of puppy-dog eyes. Jasper couldn’t hold in her laughter at the sheer ridiculousness, both of a giant hyena sitting on Peri’s full-size bed and of the astoundingly exaggerated expression on her face. Jasper shook her head and  gave Peridot an affectionate ear scritch.

“Fine, fine. I’ll get you your trash. Now shift back, I’m not getting back into bed with you while you still have paws.”

Peridot was a fast shifter-- even as Jasper walked out the door into the kitchen, she could hear Peridot yelling her thanks behind her. Dork.

Predictably, Peridot ate her garbage food and immediately conked out. She was twitching and snoring in her sleep as Jasper turned out the light, and only mumbled as Jasper climbed in beside her.

Jasper wrapped an arm around Peridot, shamelessly snuggling up against her. Maybe they would do more tonight. Maybe they would actually catch up on sleep. Either way, tonight would be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... have no excuse...
> 
> This took a while to write, actually. I had to redo the end a few times to get it right. That's not to say I didn't have fun writing this though, 'cause I got to write some softer Jasper which is always a good time. Also had a little of Peri being A Little Shit, which is also a treat to write.

**Author's Note:**

> The gratuitous were-critter au of my dreams. Inspired in part by "Howl" by Malafight, which is a good fic that is about things are and are not necessarily werewolves that you should read. 
> 
> I did a ton of research on animals for this, so hopefully this isn't too inaccurate. Peri's werehyena stuff is made up partially of actual mythology and mostly of werewolf mythology with critters that are not wolves, so if anything I wrote is actually super disrespectful please just let me know and I'll edit the fic.
> 
> I also post my writing and other miscellaneous bullshit on my tumblr, thewanderingcourier.tumblr.com, so be sure to check it out!


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